


Back To Shore

by AWholeBunchaTrouble



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst, Dark Rose AU, Manipulation, Other, Post-Game(s), Rated M for Safety, Short One Shot, aka to be safe, and the angst, au where galar forgives rose so he doesn't get punished and stays in power, but - Freeform, but then when leon is no longer champion he takes advantage of hop instead, hop becomes champion btw, hop is 17 in this fic, hop is a sensitive and insecure baby, i love hop i promise, its for the best that i didn't use british slang, its for the plot, this is a weird au i am so sorry, this is like those fics where rose takes advantage of leon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:13:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWholeBunchaTrouble/pseuds/AWholeBunchaTrouble
Summary: The dreaded feeling of only being Leon's brother strikes him in waves, and all he needs is someone to bring him back to shore.
Relationships: Hop & Rose | Chairman Rose
Kudos: 21





	Back To Shore

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, I hope it's good. 
> 
> This was inspired by wondering what would happen if Hop became Champion but with a dark twist. This also took inspiration from the fics that have Rose taking advantage of Leon.
> 
> EDIT: Naming this the Dark Rose AU. Might write more for it

He remembered it vividly. The crowds going wild, the colorful confetti being sprinkled around the stadium and the way his older brother looked down at him with pride before addressing the region he loved oh so much. 

"People of Galar!"

He couldn't help but look around in amazement as his brother spoke.

"Here you have it! A new legend born right before your eyes!" 

This was happening. He had accomplished his lifelong dream. He did it.

"Your Champion,"

He couldn't believe it.

"Hop!" 

And with that, the crowd went ballistic. Hop recognized a few faces. His mum, who had always had his back no matter what. Victor, his rival that he managed to one-up halfway through their journey. Marnie, a girl who he never really had the pleasure to meet officially. And lastly Bede, the one who constantly crushed him and put him down. Hop couldn't help but wonder if Bede would've been able to beat him at semi-finals. But that didn't matter now. All that mattered were the words escaping Leon's lips that Hop could barely even process.

It was all a memory, a wonderful memory. At the time, he wouldn't trade that moment for the world. The shiny lights, the pride his brother wore, the cheers from the crowd, all of it meant so much to him. It was almost as if he had never felt happiness before. He used to cherish that moment oh so much.

But things were different now. 

Something in his immature mind didn't understand exactly what being champion meant. He knew he had responsibilities, he knew he had to continue to inspire trainers to someday be just like him, and he knew from his experience with Leon that he didn't have the time to visit Postwick anymore. So why didn't he know about the intrusive press? He saw all of the interviews Leon was bombarded with, he didn't understand why he didn't expect the questions. No matter where he went, no matter what he did to make a name for himself, the press raised their microphones to him and asked him. 

"How does it feel to walk in your brother's footsteps?"

"How does Leon feel about being dethroned by his brother?"  
"Do you feel like Leon?" 

Leon. Leon. Leon. Leon. Leon.

He couldn't bear to hear his brother's name. It was sad. The name of the one he had spent all of time idolizing before now felt like a curse sent out to ruin his very being. The way the reporters almost _taunted_ him. It made him go insane. It felt impossible, impossible that people only saw him as Leon's brother even after he surpassed him. 

Hop didn't mind it at first. It felt natural that the people of Galar were a bit hesitant to let go of Leon. He was even a bit scared to call himself champion. But as time went on, nothing changed. In the eyes of Galar, he was nothing but Leon's shadow. He was just another Leon to the people, and that realization hurt.

It _stung_.

It kept him awake at night, unable to even process the feeling. The feeling was toxic. It was arsenic burning his insides and causing him to lose everything he ate that day at 2 in the morning, hunched over his toilet with his eyes brimmed with tears. It was a hand squeezing his throat whenever he tried to give himself pep talks in the morning in front of his mirror before a busy day. The feeling was slowly fogging his mind. Why couldn't he control it? He wanted to clear his mind and let the negativity vanish, but every time he was left to his own devices the feeling came.

It came in waves. It was trying to drown him. He knew it. He would reach his hand out to anything, anyone, praying for someone to bring him back to shore. Nothing, no one. His misery was invisible. To all. All but one. 

He felt it this time. He felt a hand grab his own, and the waves halted. He could hear a voice soothe him. The voice asked a question, to which he replied yes. He felt the hand let go, but waves were nowhere to be found. And before he could process the stillness, he felt the world around him go dark.

Hop didn't wake up in his Wyndon apartment. He woke up feeling oddly warm. He was sitting in a chair, wrapped gently in a blanket but it felt like he was on a ship. One could say he was sitting in the captain's quarters, waiting for his presence to be addressed. At first, he tensed, the area around him felt too welcoming this time. But he eventually let the strange feeling sink in, and he relaxed and pulled the blanket tighter. 

The door creaked open and his attention turned to the captain of the ship he had been taken into. It was Chairman Rose, the owner of the soothing voice he had heard before passing out earlier. 

"Leon wasn't the best champion when he started either, but he sure wasn't like this." The man chuckled before having a seat behind the desk across from him. Hop didn't know why, but he hated hearing that. He couldn't understand why he cared so much for Rose's opinion, the man should be in jail after all. Hop remained silent as the chairman went on. 

"Whatever those pesky reporters say to you doesn't amount to anything." 

Hop wanted to look up and meet the man's eyes, to see what was swirling in them, but he didn't. He kept his eyes low though he knew how much Rose would have preferred he looked at him instead. 

"They only want to see the worst in you, take their existence with a grain of salt. Besides, you should know better than to cave in to such irrelevant claims and chatter. You've been champion for how long? Three years almost?" 

Hop knew what Rose expected from him. Being the new champion meant he had to keep up with the energy that Leon had as champion. He had to fill the gap Leon left when he lost his title as champion. Being Leon's brother would make it seem as if it was easy for Hop to inherit Leon's overall aura, but damn it was hard. Hop knew he probably disappointed Rose with the number of times his smile wasn't wide enough or when he let a negative emotion slip at a question the press had asked, but every time Rose caught him in the middle of one of his panics it made him feel almost pathetic in a sense. 

"Sorry, sir." Was all that Hop could bring himself to say. He didn't know when Rose's disappointment started to hurt him but it did. Is this what Leon went through? Or did Rose just see Hop as vulnerable enough to play with? 

"Is that all? Surely you have more to say for yourself. You normally never stop talking." The chairman gave a small chuckle and watched as Hop's golden orbs lifted to meet him. Hop's mouth started to open, then it closed, and his eyes drifted off to the side temporarily. Rose knew that he had flustered the boy. He stood and walked towards Hop, bringing a hand to his head and gently messing up his hair.

"Don't worry about it, just fix yourself up." Rose then walked past the chair and towards the door. "I scheduled an interview for you in an hour, Oleana will come to get you in forty minutes. Do your best to look like you haven't lost your soul." And Rose was gone. The door behind him closed before Hope could even protest the interview. So he picked up his phone and sent Victor a text. 

**Hopscotch:** _"Hey, Rose has an interview for me to go to in an hour. Can we hang out tomorrow instead?"_

**Vic:** _"Jeez Hop, if you're going to be busy try not to do it last minute?"_

**Vic:** _"And sure, but I'm counting on you to actually make it this time."_

**Hopscotch:** _"Sorry mate, but I promise you I'll be there tomorrow."_

**Vic:** _"Like I said, I'm counting on you."_

Hop set his phone down with a sigh. He let himself be controlled by Rose. Again. He knew Rose promised to help him become a great champion. Rose promised him so much, and fourteen-year-old Hop believed every word he said. He saw how grand Leon was, it made past Hop believe that he was making the right choice. Just give Rose a little power, and he wouldn't ask for anything else. 

Present Hop finally stood. He walked into the bathroom Rose kept right next to his office and looked at himself in the mirror. He remembered what Rose told him to do and gently splashed some water on his face. His head shook and he wiped his face. Somehow, he still looked empty.

He stood up straight and tried to smile. It hurt. But he didn't stop trying. He had to smile. Not just for the interview, but for the people of Galar, his friends, his family and for the man that grabbed his hand the day he felt himself starting to drown. For the man that rescued him from the waves of his own emotions. He had to smile. For Rose.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a clarification: When Hop "feels Rose's hand grab his hand" it's just a phone call from Rose asking if he could come over and Hop told him yes. Also the ship that's referenced is Rose Tower and the captain quarters is Rose's office.
> 
> -
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it to some extent haha


End file.
